R. Kelly accuser claims she had sex with singer when she was 16

R. Kelly has long been plagued by accusations of criminal sexual relationships, most notably in 2008, when Kelly was indicted for, and later acquitted of, making child pornography. But fresh claims popped up earlier this year, when BuzzFeed reported that the singer had a sex “cult” of women he was holding against their will.

Kelly vehemently denied it. But Jerhonda Pace, now 24, is telling BuzzFeed about her past sexual relationship with Kelly to, as she puts it, “help these women out.”

As a teen, Pace was an R. Kelly superfan and attended every day of his 2008 trial to support him. She says that after that, a friend of the singer friended her on MySpace and invited her to a party at Kelly’s home in Olympia Fields, Ill. She went and got his number. She was 16 at the time.

Jerhonda Pace claims she stayed in R. Kelly’s home in Olympia Fields, Ill. during their seven-month-long relationship. (Photo: AP)

At a later date, Pace says she and Kelly had oral sex. Days later, she says Kelly gave her an alcoholic drink and they had intercourse.

Pace claims the singer knew she was underage but told her that she should tell people she was 19, and she should act like she was 25.

Their sexual relationship continued for seven months. Pace lived at his Olympia Fields home and was forced to obey certain rules: wearing baggy clothes, turning over her phone, and asking permission to shower, eat, go to the bathroom, and leave the property. She says she was abused mentally and physically if she broke the rules.

Pace ended the relationship in January 2010 after a physical altercation with the singer. She told BuzzFeed, “I was slapped and I was choked and I was spit on.”

She later received a large settlement in exchange for signing a nondisclosure agreement and declining to pursue other claims against the singer.

“The allegations against Mr. Kelly are false, and are being made by individuals known to be dishonest. It is clear these continuing stories are the result of the effort of those with personal agendas who are working in concert to interfere with and damage his career. Mr. Kelly again denies any and all wrongdoing and is taking appropriate legal action to protect himself from ongoing defamation.”

Pace is aware of the risks she’s taking by speaking out: “Kelly could sue me. But I’m really not worried about it anymore. I feel like this is a healing process for me, because I’ve been holding this in for so many years, and to see that he always gets away with it, it’s just not right.”